From Then To Now

The Legacy of Lake Placid Figure Skating

The rich history of Figure Skating in Lake Placid can be traced back nearly a Century. From the Lake Placid inception of the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) in 1921 to Smucker's Stars on Ice opening their 2004 season in the 1980 Arena for the 12th consecutive year, the legendary skating in Lake Placid has spanned the years and stood the test of time.

The 1932 Arena-now renovated and used for year-round training-was the first-ever indoor Olympic Arena to be used for Figure Skating. It is on that very surface that Sonja Henie captured the first Olympic Gold in Ladies Figure Skating.

The following summer marked the first Annual Summer Ice Program and the Ice Carnival Production Show, a tradition still running strong 75 years later. During

these early years in Lake Placid, coaching legend Gustav Lussi made Lake Placid his home and training center. "No doubt Gus Lussi was one of the greatest coaches of all times. His time in Lake Placid was about making champions and was a brilliant time in skating history," commented former Lussi student and current Olympic Center Staff Coach, Evelyn Kramer.

Some of the champions that Lussi trained during his lengthy coaching career in Lake Placid include Dick Button, Donald Jackson, Ronnie Robertson, Ron Luddington, Dorothy Hamill and hundreds more. Dick Button remembered, "I took my first skating lesson from Mr. Lussi on my 13th birthday in 1942. He was my only coach and a second parent through an Olympic Gold in both 1948 and 1952 and five World Championships."

In the later years, Lussi coached students who are now coaches of the champions of today including Robin Wagner (coach of Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen) and Priscilla Hill (coach of Johnny Weir). Wagner remembers her training days with Lussi, "As skaters, we were part of a family. Lake Placid will always hold a very special place for me."

Priscilla Hill who trained as a young skater and began her coaching career in Lake Placid remarked, "To me Lake Placid is home. The whole town supports the skaters, you don't find that other places."

The Lussi Rink, where the specialty coaching On-Ice Classes are now held, is named in his memory.

In addition to the Championship skaters that trained in Lake Placid, The Olympic Center has played host to more high profile skating events than just about anywhere in the World. Of course, the history of events is punctuated by both the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Games. Other past events include highlights such as the first Eastern Section in 1938, U.S. Nationals in 1964 and Skate America in 1981. The Summer Free Skating Championships has been an annual event since 1958 and the LP Summer Ice Dance Championships has grown into the largest dance competition in the country.

In more recent years, the first-ever Winter Goodwill Games came to Lake Placid in 2000, the North Atlantic Regionals have made Lake Placid home for 6 of the last 13 years and 2004 marked a Placid repeat for the Eastern Sectional Championships. The U. S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships came to the Olympic Center in 2002 and U. S. Adult Nationals will return four the fifth time in 2008.

Aside from the high profile events that come through Lake Placid the level of coaching and training continues to thrive. From 1994 - 1999, Natalia Dubova coached such elite skaters as ice dancing legends Maya Usova and Alexander Zulin and World Champions Shae Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz.

Scott Hamilton, who competed in the Lake Placid Freestyle Competition as a young skater, the Olympic Games in 1980, won Skate America in 1981, and this year opened Smucker's Star's on Ice in its Lake Placid home said, "I have been coming to Lake Placid since I was ten years old. The history, the atmosphere and the quality of all the facilities are nothing short of Olympic. I only wish I could spend more time in this magical place."